“Over the last century, a lot of people have relocated here for work in the mine. That’s not to mention the generations of miners that were born here”

Local man, Paul Sterling got in on the mining boom back in 2006 when he was only 27.

“I thought, ‘Hey there’s work in Moranbah – it seems like a nice place, I may as well get the family out there with me’. We found a nice old family house and bought it for $800,000,”

Paul Sterling is now in over half a million dollars debt because he decided to invest in a family home near his work, Moranbah

But unfortunately for Paul and Ted, the mining company that employ them don’t really care too much about their idea of “community”.

“All of a sudden they only started hiring blokes from the cities. The local housing market plummeted because Moranbah, as a town, was no longer relevant – most of the workers just hot-bed it in dongers (demountable accommodation)”

“…and now they are trying to filter out us local blokes because they are worried they might have to build a proper hospital or something” says Paul,

Moranbah, 1970. As depicted by the cute postcard. Unfortunately, families are discouraged from living there anymore.

“Hot-bedding” is a newly coined terminology to describe the frugal accommodation offered to mine workers by the bigger mining companies in Australia. In a shared boarding-style cabin, the beds are also shared.

“One bloke sleeps during the day, gets up for work, the sheets get changed and then goes to work while another bloke sleeps in the bed overnight,”

“The bed stays warm, if you know what I mean. It’s hot-bedding”

Paul says he is at risk of losing his job in Moranbah because the mining companies don’t like the idea of their employees enjoying work after hours.

“The fact that I have a wife and kids to go home to, that really worries them,”

Local publican, Bryan Shamrock also acknowledges the company’s fear of a local community uprising.

Moranabah miners serving themselves breakfast at bain-marie – put in place by the companies to replace their wives. Most miners gain an estimated 20 extra kilos while eating deep-fried on the job.

“They know that wives can often encourage workers to speak up for themselves – and in a mining site as big as this one, that can be a problem,”

“If they only employ city blokes as FIFO workers, there is less chances of these blokes unionizing… They are more concerned about getting home to their families and prepared to cop anything that gets thrown at them while on the job,”

In a bizarre attempt to find job security with his “local” employer – Paul has devised a cunning plan which would allow him to keep his job at Moranbah”

“We are going to move to Brisbane. It’s a bit extreme but it’s all we’ve got,”

“The house is dead-weight anyway, It’s only worth around $200,000 nowadays – I’ve lost close to half a million on that three-bedroom piece of shit”

It is more practical for the Sterling family to live 11 hours away from where Dad works. According to the mines.

“Gone are the days of me coming home to my wife and kids,

“Now I have to settle for two weeks at work, hot-bedding, while my kids grow up without a Dad,”

“But it’s kind of worth it because I get four and a half days off in between my two-week stints”